5/26 IL Migration Report

Hmm...what to think...

Tonight should be showing some more movement in places experiencing southeasterly winds, but because of some complex frontal boundaries and interactions between systems, it seems that right now, these favorable conditions are mostly restricted to Southern and Central IL. This could change overnight, but even if it does, precipitation over Central and Northern IL should halt most movement until it passes--so whether or not much moves throughout the state tonight remains in the balance. Ultimately, we want precipitation to end followed by southerly winds, and this could happen randomly

Winds at the time of this post

throughout the night, and thus migration will probably fairly sporadic (save Southern IL). The radar so far tonight is at the bottom of this post, or live in the sidebar on the right. As reflected by the winds, migration, light to moderate, is mostly concentrated in the Southern third of the state.

However, sorry to say it folks, but we're running out of migrants! Central and Northern IL are still experiencing influxes of migrant flycatchers, thrushes, warblers, and shorebirds, but as observed by Keith McMullen here: http://bit.ly/14UALRw, most migrants have pretty much moved on or settled down to breed in Southern IL. The time is nigh, everyone. Don't get me wrong, birds will still be moving, especially shorebirds, but May is almost over. Time to prepare for Breeding Bird Surveys and all the other fun of summer birding. Breeding biology is one of the most fascinating parts of ornithology (see Bridget Stutchbury's "the Private Lives of Birds"), and I encourage you all to get out there and make ornithologists out of yourselves!

The next few days look to be relatively favorable, with overall southerly winds, but we'll see how it turns out. Northern IL Wind Forecast: http://bit.ly/ZxyRq6, Southern IL Wind Forecast: http://bit.ly/124R3WX

To figure out which species to look for in your area, here are the eBird resources I've made a habit of sharing. Overall, keep your eyes peeled for arrivals and influxes of flycatchers, thrushes, late warblers, hummingbirds, and any shorebirds.
General IL charts: http://bit.ly/129Tru1
Make your own: http://bit.ly/129Tfed

Cool. Good luck everyone. Here's hoping the radar lights up a little bit more some time tonight.

Not bad...how about a little more? We'll see what tonight brings.